ROME: One of the eight migrants brought for processing in an Albanian center after being intercepted in international waters has returned to Italy after being deemed “vulnerable,” a delegation of Italian activists and lawmakers visiting the center said on Saturday.
The Egyptian man was diagnosed with “psychic problems,” which made it impossible for him to remain at the Gjadër reception center, one of the activists said. Currently only seven migrants – five from Bangladesh and two from Egypt – remain at the Albanian center.
The group represented the second transfer of migrants since two processing centers started operating in October under a deal sealed between Italy and Albania. Human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations active in the Mediterranean have slammed the agreement as a dangerous precedent that conflicts with international laws.
The agreement allows up to 3,000 migrants intercepted by the Italian coast guard in international waters each month to be sheltered in Albania, and vetted for possible asylum in Italy or be sent back to their countries.
Italy has agreed to welcome those migrants who are granted asylum, while those whose applications are rejected face deportation directly from Albania.
The first group of 16 migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt was transferred to Albania on Oct. 16. Four were taken to Italy the same day because they were minors or had health issues. Twelve others were brought back to Italy three days later, following a ruling by Rome judges who rejected their detention because their countries of origin weren’t safe enough for them to be sent back.
The court ruling had shortened the list of countries considered “safe” by law, meaning that Rome can repatriate migrants from those countries who didn’t win asylum using a fast-track procedure. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni slammed the decision, noting that deeming countries such as Bangladesh and Egypt unsafe means that virtually all migrants would be barred from the Albania program.
On Oct. 21, Italy’s far-right government approved a new decree aimed at overcoming those judicial hurdles that risked derailing the contentious five-year migration deal with Albania.
A decision by Rome judges on the detention of the seven migrants currently in Albania is expected for Monday.
One of 8 migrants sent to Albania returned to Italy
https://arab.news/mb545
One of 8 migrants sent to Albania returned to Italy
- The Egyptian man was diagnosed with “psychic problems,” which made it impossible for him to remain at the Gjadër reception center
- Currently only seven migrants – five from Bangladesh and two from Egypt – remain at the Albanian center
‘I admire Vision 2030’: Bangladesh’s new PM aims for stronger Saudi, GCC ties
- Saudi Arabia congratulates Tarique Rahman on assuming Bangladesh’s top office
- Relations between Bangladesh and Kingdom were formalized during his father’s rule
DHAKA: After 17 years in exile, Tarique Rahman has taken office as prime minister of Bangladesh, inheriting his parents’ political legacy and facing immediate economic and political challenges.
Rahman led his Bangladesh Nationalist Party to a landslide victory in the Feb. 12 general election, winning an absolute majority with 209 of 300 parliamentary seats and marking the party’s return to power after two decades.
The BNP was founded by his father, former President Ziaur Rahman, a 1971 Liberation War hero. After his assassination in 1981, Rahman’s mother, Khaleda Zia, took over the party’s helm and served two full terms as prime minister — in 1991 and 2001.
Rahman and his cabinet, whose members were sworn in alongside him on Tuesday, take over from an interim administration which governed Bangladesh for 18 months after former premier Sheikh Hasina — the BNP’s archrival who ruled consecutively for 15 years — was toppled in the 2024 student-led uprising.
As he begins his term, the new prime minister’s first tasks will be to rebuild the economy — weakened by uncertainty during the interim administration — and to restore political stability. Relations with the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia and other GCC states, are also high on his agenda.
“Saudi Arabia is one of our long-standing friends,” Rahman told Arab News at his office in Dhaka, two days before his historic election win.
“I admire the Saudi Vision 2030, and I am sincerely looking forward to working with the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. BNP always had a great relationship with the Muslim world, especially GCC nations — UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman — and I look forward to working closely with GCC countries and their leadership to build a long-term trusting partnership with mutual interest,” Rahman said.
The Saudi government congratulated him on assuming the top office on Tuesday, wishing prosperity to the Bangladeshi people.
Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia established formal diplomatic relations in August 1975, and the first Bangladeshi ambassador presented his credentials in late 1976, after Rahman’s father rose to power. That year, Bangladesh also started sending laborers, engineers, doctors, and teachers to work in the Kingdom.
Today, more than 3 million Bangladeshis live and work in Saudi Arabia — the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the biggest Bangladeshi community outside the country.
“I recall that when my father, President Ziaur Rahman, was in office, bilateral relations between our two nations were initiated,” Rahman said. “During the tenure of my mother, the late Begum Khaleda Zia, as prime minister, those relations became even stronger.”
Over the decades, Saudi Arabia has not only emerged as the main destination for Bangladesh’s migrant workers but also one of its largest development and emergency aid donors.
Weeks after Rahman’s mother began her first term as prime minister in 1991, Bangladesh was struck by one of the deadliest tropical cyclones in its history. Riyadh was among the first who offered assistance, and Zia visited Saudi Arabia on her earliest foreign tour and performed Hajj in June 1991.
For Rahman, who had been living in London since 2008 and returned to Bangladesh in December — just days before his mother’s death — the Kingdom will also be one of the first countries he plans to visit.
“I would definitely like to visit Saudi Arabia early in my term,” he said. “Personally, I also wish to visit the holy mosque, Al-Masjid Al-Haram, Makkah, to perform Umrah.”
